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Tapering down

10 Apr 2013, 08:02 | Tags: Paul Donovan

The US Federal Reserve offers us the minutes of its last policy meeting. With discussions about "tapering" bond purchases being heard in the markets, there may be a heightened level of interest in the balance of opinion on the FOMC.

Chinese trade data moved into deficit, with weaker export but import running at twice the growth expected. This could be read any number of ways - weak global demand (exports), strong global demand (importing for re-export) or better Chinese demand (of interest to commodity producers).

Australian consumer sentiment dipped, following the unexpected weakness in the business sentiment data earlier this week. However, the reserve Bank of Australia does not seem to be unduly concerned about sentiment at this stage.

More industrial production data is due from the Euro area, and the problems of the Euro area are such as to incline economists to be downbeat. Meanwhile Nowotny of the ECB revealed himself as a master of understatement, describing the first failed bailout of Cyprus as a "serious mistake".